Anglo-Norman literature isliterature composed in theAnglo-Norman language and developed during the period of 1066–1204, as theDuchy of Normandy and theKingdom of England were united in theAnglo-Norman realm.
TheNorman language was introduced toEngland during the rule ofWilliam the Conqueror. Following theNorman Conquest, the Norman language was spoken by England's nobility. Similar toLatin, theAnglo-Norman language (the variety of Norman used in England) was deemed theliterary language of England in the 12th century, and it was in use at the court until the 14th century. During the reign ofHenry IV,English became the native tongue of the kings of England. The language underwent specific changes which distinguished it from theOld Norman spoken in Normandy, from which specific pronunciation rules are inferred. An Anglo-Norman variety of French continued to exist into the early 15th century, though it was in decline from at least the 1360s when it was deemed insufficiently well-known to be used for pleading in court. Great prestige continued to be enjoyed by the French language, however; in the late 14th century, the author of theManière de language called French:[1]
which means:
Anglo-Norman literature flourished from the beginning of the 12th century to the end of the first quarter of the 13th century. This period's end coincides with the French provinces' loss to Philip Augustus. It is more accurately denoted by the appearance of the history of William the Marshal in 1225 (published for theSociété de l'histoire de France, byPaul Meyer, three vols., 1891–1901). Its importance was sustained by the protection accorded byHenry II of England to the writers of his day.[3]
Wace andBenoît de Sainte-More compiled their histories at his bidding, and it was in his reign thatMarie de France composed her poems. An event with which he was closely connected, viz., the murder ofThomas Becket, gave rise to a whole series of writings, some of which are purely Anglo-Norman. In his time appeared the works ofBéroul andThomas of Britain, respectively, and some of the most celebrated of the Anglo-Normanromans d'aventure. These works can be grouped into narrative, didactic, hagiographic, lyric, satiric, and dramatic literature.[3]
The Frenchepic came over to England at an early date. It is believed that theChanson de Roland (Song of Roland) was sung at thebattle of Hastings, and some Anglo-Norman manuscripts ofchansons de geste have survived to this day. ThePélérinage de Charlemagne (Eduard Koschwitz,Altfranzösische Bibliothek, 1883) for instance, is preserved only in an Anglo-Norman manuscript of theBritish Museum (now lost)[how?], although the author was certainly a Parisian. The oldest extant manuscript of theChanson de Roland is also amanuscript written in England. Amongst the others of less importance isLa Chançun de Willame, the MS. of which has (June 1903) been published in facsimile at Chiswick.[5]
Although the diffusion of epic poetry in England did not actually inspire any newchansons de geste, it developed the taste for this class of literature, and the epic style in which the tales of theRomance of Horn, ofBovon de Hampton, ofGui de Warewic, ofWaldef, and ofFulk Fitz Warine are treated, is partly due to this circumstance. Although the last of these works is available only in a prose version, it contains unmistakable signs of a previous poetic form; it is a rendering into prose similar to the transformations undergone by many of thechansons de geste.[3]
The inter-influence of French and English literature can be studied in theBreton romances and theromans d'aventure even better than in the epic poetry of the period. TheLay of Orpheus is known only through an English imitation,Sir Orfeo; theLai du cor was composed byRobert Biket, an Anglo-Norman poet of the 12th century (Wulff, Lund, 1888).The Lais of Marie de France were written in England, and the greater number of the romances composing thematière de Bretagne seem to have passed from England to France through the medium of Anglo-Norman.[3]
The legends ofMerlin andArthur, collected in theHistoria Regum Britanniae byGeoffrey of Monmouth (died c. 1154), passed into French literature, bearing the character which thebishop of St Asaph had stamped upon them.Chrétien de Troyes'sPerceval (c. 1175) is based on an Anglo-Norman poem. Robert de Boron (c. 1215) took the subject of his Merlin (published by G. Paris and J. Ulrich, 1886, 2 vols.,Société des anciens textes français) from Geoffrey of Monmouth.[3]
Finally, regarded by many as the most celebrated love-legend of the Middle Ages, the story ofTristan and Iseult, was created into literary works by two authors,Béroul andThomas, the first of whom is probably, and the second certainly, Anglo-Norman (seeArthurian legend;Holy Grail;Tristan). OneFolie Tristan was composed in England in the last years of the 12th century. (For all these questions, seeSoc. des Anc. Textes,Ernest Muret's ed. 1903;Joseph Bédier's ed. 1902–1905).[3]
Hugh of Rutland wrote tworomans d'aventure:Ipomedon (published byEugen Kölbing and Koschwitz, Breslau, 1889), which relates the adventures of a knight who married the young duchess of Calabria, niece of King Meleager of Sicily, but was loved by Medea, the king's wife,[3] andProtheselaus (published by Kluckow, Göttingen, 1924), written around 1185, which is the sequel toIpomedon. It deals with the wars and subsequent reconciliation between Ipomedon's sons, Daunus, the elder, lord of Apulia, and Protesilaus, the younger, lord of Calabria. Protesilaus defeats Daunus, who had expelled him from Calabria. He saves his brother's life, is reinvested with the dukedom of Calabria, and, after the death of Daunus, succeeds Apulia. He subsequently marries Medea, King Meleager's widow, who had helped him seize Apulia, having transferred her affection for Ipomedon to his younger son (cf. Ward,Cat. of Rom., i. 728).[3]
Amadas et Idoine, existing only in a continental version, was also the work of an Anglo-Norman author.Gaston Paris has proved that the original was composed in England in the 12th century (An English Miscellany presented to Dr. Furnivall in Honour of his Seventy-fifth Birthday, Oxford, 1901, 386–394).[3]
The Anglo-Norman poem on theLife of Richard Coeur de Lion is lost, and an English version only has been preserved. About 1250 Eustace of Kent introduced into England theroman d'Alexandre in hisRoman de toute chevalerie, many passages of which have been imitated in one of the oldest English poems on Alexander, namely,King Alisaunder (P. Meyer,Alexandre le grand, Paris, 1886, ii. 273, and Weber,Metrical Romances, Edinburgh).[3]
In spite of the popularity enjoyed by this class of literature, there are only some half-dozenfabliaux written in England:[3]
One of the most popular medieval collections of fables was that written by Marie de France, which she claimed to have translated fromKing Alfred. In theContes moralisés, written byNicole Bozon shortly before 1320 (Soc. Anc. Textes, 1889), a few fables bear a strong resemblance to those of Marie de France.[3]
Of arguably greater importance are the works which constitute Anglo-Norman historiography. The first Anglo-Norman historiographer,Geoffrey Gaimar, wrote hisEstoire des Engleis (between 1147 and 1151) for Dame Constance, wife of Ralph FitzGilbert (The Anglo-Norman Metrical Chronicle, Hardy and Martin, i. ii., London, 1888). This history comprised a first part (now lost), which was merely a translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae, preceded by a history of the Trojan War, and a second part which proceeds as far as the death ofWilliam Rufus. For this second part, he consulted historical documents, but stopped at the year 1087, when first-hand information was more readily available. Similarly, Wace in hisRoman de Rou (ed. Anthony Holden, Paris, 1970–1973), written 1160–1174, stops at thebattle of Tinchebray in 1106. HisBrut orGeste des Bretons (Le Roux de Lincy, 1836–1838, 2 vols.), written in 1155, is a translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth.[6]
TheHistory of the Dukes of Normandy by Benoît de Sainte-More is based on the work of Wace. It was composed at the request of Henry II in approximately 1170, recording events up to 1135 (ed. by Francisque Michel, 1836–1844,Collection de documents inédits, 3 vols.). Its 43,000 lines are the work of aromancier courtois, who takes pleasure in recounting love-adventures such as those he has described in his romance of Troy, rather than serious historiography. Other works, however, give more trustworthy information. For example, the anonymous poem on Henry II'sConquest of Ireland in 1172 (ed. Francisque Michel, London, 1837), together with theExpugnatio hibernica of Gerald of Wales, constitutes the chief authority on this subject. TheConquest of Ireland was republished in 1892 byGoddard Henry Orpen, under the title ofThe Song of Dermot and the Earl (Oxford, Clarendon Press). Similarly,Jourdain Fantosme, who was in the north of England in 1174, wrote an account of the wars between Henry II, his sons, William the Lion of Scotland and Louis VII, in 1173 and 1174 (Chronicle of the reigns of Stephen ... III., ed. by Joseph Stevenson and Fr. Michel, London, 1886, pp. 202–307).
Of more historical value isThe History of William the Marshal, Count of Striguil and Pembroke, regent of England from 1216–1219, which was found and subsequently edited by Paul Meyer (Société de l'histoire de France, 3 vols., 1891–1901). It was composed in 1225 or 1226 by a professional poet of talent at the request of William, son of the marshal. It was compiled from the notes of the marshal's squire, John d'Early (d. 1230 or 1231), who shared all the vicissitudes of his master's life and was one of the executors of his will. This work is of great value for the history of the period 1186–1219, as the information furnished by John d'Early is either personal or obtained at first hand. In the part which deals with the period before 1186 there are various mistakes, due to the author's ignorance of contemporary history, but this does not detract significantly from the literary value of the work. The style is concise, the anecdotes are well told, the descriptions short and picturesque; the whole constitutes one of the most living pictures of medieval society.
Other less-valued works are theChronique ofPeter of Langtoft, written between 1311 and 1320, and mainly of interest for the period 1294–1307 (ed. by T. Wright, London, 1866–1868); theChronique ofNicholas Trevet (1258?–1328?), dedicated to Princess Mary, daughter of Edward I. (Duffus Hardy,Descr. Catal. III., 349-350); theScala Chronica compiled byThomas Gray of Heaton (†c. 1369), which carries up to the year 1362-1363 (ed. by J. Stevenson, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1836); theBlack Prince, a poem by the poetChandos Herald, composed about 1386, and relating the life of theBlack Prince from 1346-1376 (re-edited by Francisque Michel, London and Paris, 1883); and, lastly, the different versions of theBrutes, the form and historical importance of which have been indicated by Paul Meyer (Bulletin de laSociété des anciens textes français, 1878, pp. 104–145), and by F. W. D. Brie (Geschichte und Quellen der mittelenglischen Prosachronik, The Brute of England or The Chronicles of England, Marburg, 1905).[6]
The Crusade and Death of Richard I is a mid-13th-century prose chronicle by an anonymous author. It tells of the journey of KingRichard the Lionheart to the Holy Land on theThird Crusade from 1190 to 1191. The chronicle details the trip through France, Sicily, and Cyprus, as well as the siege and capture of Acre, Richard's capture in Austria on the return trip, and his eventual return to England. Later it describes his campaigns againstPhilip II of France in Normandy, and his death at Châlus in 1199. It is based on the writings byRoger of Howden,Roger of Wendover andMatthew Paris.
On ancient history is the translation of Eutropius and Dares byGeoffrey of Waterford (13th century), who also wrote theSecret des Secrets, a translation from a work wrongly attributed toAristotle, which belongs to the next division (Rom. xxiii. 314).[6]
Didactic literature is the most considerable branch of Anglo-Norman literature: it comprises a large number of works written chiefly with the object of giving both religious and profane instruction to Anglo-Norman lords and ladies. The following list gives the most important productions arranged in chronological order:[7]
In the 14th century are found:[8]
Also existing are a few handbooks on the teaching of French. Gautier de Biblesworth wrote such a treatiseà Madame Dyonise de Mountechensi pur aprise de langage (T. Wright,A Volume of Vocabularies; P. Meyer,Rec. d'anc. textes, p. 360 andRomania xxxii, 22);Orthographia gallica (J. Stürzinger (editor),Altfranzösische Bibliothek herausgegeben von Dr. Wendelin Foerster. Achter Band. Orthographia Gallica. Ältester Traktat über französische Aussprache und Orthographie. Nach vier Handschriften zum ersten Mal herausgegeben, Heilbronn, 1884, and R.C. Johnston,ANTS. Plain Texts 1987);La manière de language, written in 1396 (P. Meyer,Rev. crit. d'hist. et de litt. vii(2). 378). In 1884, Meyer noted no fewer than fourteen manuscripts containing this treatise;[9]Un petit livre pour enseigner les enfants de leur entreparler comun françois, c. 1399 (Stengel,Z. für n.f. Spr. u. Litt. i. 11).[8]
The importantMirour de l'omme, byJohn Gower, contains about 30,000 lines written in very good French at the end of the 14th century (Macaulay,The Complete Works of John Gower, i., Oxford, 1899).[8]
Religious tales dealing mostly with the Marian legends have been handed down in three collections:[3]
Another set of religious and moralizing tales is to be found inChardri'sSet dormans about theSeven Sleepers andJosaphat aboutBarlaam and Josaphat c. 1216 (Koch,Altfr. Bibl., 1880; G. Paris,Poèmes et légendes du moyen âge).[6]
Among the numerouslives of saints written in Anglo-Norman the most important ones are the following, the list of which is given in chronological order:[8]
To this category can be added the life of Hugh of Lincoln, 13th century (Hist. Lit. xxiii. 436; Child,The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 1888, p. v; Wolter,Bibl. Anglo-Norm., ii. 115). Other lives of saints were recognized to be Anglo-Norman by Paul Meyer when examining the MSS. of the Welbeck library (Rom. xxxii. 637 andHist. Lit. xxxiii. 338-378).[8]
The only extant songs of importance are the seventy-oneBallads of Gower (Stengel,Gower's Minnesang, 1886). The remaining are mostly of a religious character. Most of these songs have been discovered and published by Paul Meyer (Bulletin de la Soc. Anc. Textes, 1889;Not. et Extr. xxxiv;Rom. xiii. 518, t. xiv. 370; xv. p. 254, &c.). Although they were numerous at one time, few have survived, owing to the constant intercourse between English, French andProvençals of all classes. An interesting passage inPiers Plowman furnishes us with a proof of the extent to which these songs penetrated into England, which writes of:[8]
- ... dykers and deluers that doth here dedes ille,
- And dryuen forth the longe day with 'Deu, vous saue,'
- Dame Emme! (Prologue, 223 f.)[8]
One of the finest productions of Anglo-Norman lyric poetry written in the end of the 13th century is thePlainte d'amour (Vising, Göteborg, 1905;Romania xiii. 507, xv. 292 and xxix. 4). There are various other works of a lyrical character written in two languages: Latin and French; or English and French; or even in three languages, Latin, English and French. InEarly English Lyrics (Oxford, 1907) there is a poem in which a lover sends to his mistress a love-greeting composed in three languages, and his learned friend replies in the same style (De amico ad amicam, Responcio, viii and ix).[8]
The popularity enjoyed by theRoman de Renart and the Anglo-Norman version of theRiote du Monde (Z. f. rom. Phil. viii. 275-289) in England is proof enough that the French spirit of satire was keenly appreciated. The clergy and women presented the most attractive target for the shots of the satirists. However, an Englishman raised his voice in favour of the ladies in a poem entitledLa Bonté des dames (Meyer,Rom. xv. 315-339), and Nicole Bozon, after having represented "Pride" as a feminine being whom he supposes to be the daughter of Lucifer, and after having fiercely attacked the women of his day in theChar d'Orgueil (Rom. xiii. 516), also composed aBounté des femmes (P. Meyer, op. cit. 33) in which he covers them with praise, commending their courtesy, their humility, their openness and the care with which they bring up their children. A few pieces of political satire show French and English exchanging amenities on their mutual shortcomings. TheRoman des Français, by André de Coutances, was written on the continent, and cannot be quoted as Anglo-Norman although it was composed before 1204 (cf. Gaston Paris:Trois versions rimées de l'évangile de Nicodème, Soc. Anc. Textes, 1885), and is a spirited reply to French authors who had attacked the English.[8]
This must have had a considerable influence on the development of themystery play in England, but none of the French plays acted in England in the 12th and 13th centuries have been preserved.Adam, generally considered to be an Anglo-Norman mystery of the 12th century, was most probably written in France at the beginning of the 13th century (Romania xxxii. 637), and the so-called Anglo-NormanResurrection belongs to continental French as well. The earliest Englishmorality plays seem to have been imitations of the French ones.[8]
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Brandin, Louis Maurice (1911). "Anglo-Norman Literature". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 31–34.